All or Nothing

There's a tempting but dangerous detour along life's path.

It's labeled "perfection," but beware: the real name is "all or nothing."

This way of thinking is mired in fear.

It can come from unchosen experiences in our own history

which affect how we organize and interpret information in our environment.

We try to forge ahead, but it's all we know...

like foggy glasses distorting the scenery;

like ill-fitting trekking equipment creating fumbles and falls;

like cumbersome packs bogging us down and making movement sluggish.

Maybe the words of others, or our own voices to ourselves, become the echo of our reality:

"Nothing good..."

"Nothing ever..."

"All I do is..."

"All they do/say/want is..."

This detour is loaded.

Judgment, avoidance and reassurance-seeking create a thick, toxic mud.

Step into this negative muck, and start to sink deep into low mood.

This is no "path" but an obvious dead-end.

Where are the options?

What about openings for possibility?

How about opportunities to course-correct?

Can we find help in the midst of the "all or nothing" detour we've taken by mistake?

Fortunately, there's a great GuideBook all about options,

full of possibility

and brimming with accounts of course-correction by many who felt down-and-out.

It's All there. Nothing has been left out.

Speaking of accounts,

we can particularly trust one of the GuideBook narrators, Matthew.

Matthew is the Numbers Guy, the accounting and tax expert.

He speaks the language of accuracy and balance.

Flip to his pages in the GuideBook and examine how he records the Words of Jesus.

All or nothing: what can we do to avoid this hopelessness when we feel spent and debilitated?

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matt 19:26

Cross-check Luke the physician's notes in the GuideBook, too:

"For with God nothing shall be impossible."

All or nothing: how do we avoid traps and find an escape-route?

John, the fisherman, knows terrain and records other helpful words of the Christ-Guide:

"The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,

will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." John 14:26

For "Without Me, you can do nothing." John 15:5.

How's that for a Tripod net of reassurance?

All or nothing: where are the opportunities to course-correct without judgment?

Mark, an enthusiastic author of another GuideBook section

records how to address all of the "members" that make us up:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your mind and with all your strength."

All or Nothing?

It's an about-face: facing Reality. Facing Truth. Facing our own True Needs.

All. And. Nothing.

Rather than words of the imperfect (in ourselves and others),

Words of the Perfect One in Christ have us covered.

All. And. Nothing.

The GuideBook is thick and plentiful on All and Nothing.

Suddenly, it's All there; Nothing to fear...

All have fallen short...

All things work together for good for those who love God...

Nothing is impossible for God...

Nothing can separate us from the love of God...

Recognize the dangerous detour of All-or-Nothing.

Reap the reminders of the Perfect Words on All and Nothing.

And Remember.

Eat those All And Nothing Words.

It's the best Trailmix around.